Wesley Dijs claims first World Cup victory in Calgary, finishing narrowly ahead of Ning Zhongyan

Wesley Dijs claimed the first World Cup medal of his career after striking 1500m gold at the World Cup meet in Calgary on Friday night.

The 27-year-old’s time of 1:42.93 was enough to seal a monumental victory for the Dutchman, who finished just 0.02s ahead of China’s Ning Zhongyan, who was forced to settle for second.

The Netherlands also took bronze with Kjeld Nuis finishing in third, just 0.1s behind his compatriot – with the top eight all finishing within a second of Dijs.

“I knew it was possible. I skated really well in training, but I was still sort of searching how to translate that into good races,” said Dijs.

“To win, it feels a big relief. I like skating on high altitude tracks [like Calgary]. I come from the sprint side and [on a fast track] it’s easier to start fast and maintain the speed.”

Despite only finishing in sixth place, Connor Howe remains at the top of the World Cup standings and he also found himself on the Team Pursuit podium, with Canada finishing second behind the US.

Elsewhere, Kim Min Sun continued her incredible recent form as she picked up a third straight World Cup victory over 500m.

The Korean had picked up back-to-back victories in Stavanger and Heerenveen, and set a new personal best of 36.97s to strike gold in Calgary.

Austria’s Vanessa Herzog came home in second place, with Dutchwoman Jutta Leerdam finishing third.

Meanwhile, there was a second World Cup triumph of the season for Norway’s Ragne Wiklund over 3000m.

After victory in Stavanger was followed by a bronze medal in Heerenveen, Wiklund returned to the top of the podium with her time of 3:56.94 sealing an impressive victory.

Dutch duo Marijke Groenewoud and Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong finished in second and third respectively, while Irene Schouten was forced to settle for seventh.

Wiklund said: “I was a bit unsure about the conditions and how I was feeling. Then I actually felt like the whole race was a bit hard. [Racing at] altitude is a bit different.

“I was a bit nervous going into the faster tracks, because I know that I’m good at the slower ones. This [gold medal] gives me confidence heading on to the next races.”